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Mine rescue efforts temporarily suspended

Story highlights

Protesters lay symbolic coffins at government buildings, rail against Erdogan

274 are confirmed dead after an explosion, fire inside a mine in western Turkey

88 workers made it out of the mine; dozens may be trapped

Miner says there's "no hope" that anyone else is still alive

The scene was somber, sullen and mostly silent outside the Turkish coal mine. But every so often, the grief came out loud and clear.

"Enough for the life for me!" yelled one woman -- her arms flailing, tears running down her cheeks -- according to video from Turkish broadcaster DHA. "Let this mine take my life, too!"

As she was pulled away, she added, "Enough is enough."

Sadly, the torment for her and many others isn't over.

Yes, rescuers did save at least 88 miners in the frantic moments after a power transformer blew up Tuesday during shift change at the mine in the western Turkish city of Soma, sparking a choking fire deep inside.

But another 274 are known dead, according to Turkey's Natural Disaster and Emergency Coordination Directorate. Those who underwent autopsies died of carbon monoxide poisoning, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said.

Mine disaster rocks Soma community

Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Friends and relatives of dead miners pray at a cemetery on Saturday, May 17. The search for victims of this week's coal mine fire in Soma is now over, with a final death toll of 301, Turkish government officials said Saturday.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Mourners reach out to touch the coffin of a miner recovered from the Soma mine on May 17.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A relative offers her prayers next to the grave of a loved one in Soma on Friday, May 16.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Family members mourn at the grave of a victim on May 16.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A woman attends the burial of victims in Soma on Thursday, May 15.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A woman waits on the ground at the disaster scene Wednesday, May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A man weeps over the body of a miner being pulled from the mine in Soma on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – People gather near rows of open graves for victims in Soma on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A rescue worker prepares stretchers for the search for miners on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center, surrounded by security, visits the coal mine on May 14. Hundreds have taken to the streets of Istanbul and Ankara since the disaster in protest of the government and poor safety regulations. Unions have called for strikes across the country on May 15.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – The crowd reacts as rescue workers carry the body of a miner in Soma on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Miners and relatives wait for news outside the mine on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A family member cries as rescue workers carry a survivor from the mine on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Miners rest after hours of working with the rescue operation on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A miner covers his face after being affected by toxic gas during rescue operations on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Rescue workers carry a miner to an ambulance on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Rescue workers carry a survivor from the mine on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – People await news about relatives in front of a Soma hospital on May 14.

Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Miners wait outside the mine in the early hours of May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Rescuers help carry away a miner on May 14.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Relatives try to get information outside a Soma hospital on Tuesday, May 13.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – An injured miner gets pulled from the mine on May 13.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Rescue workers and relatives gather at the mine on May 13.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – An injured miner is carried out by rescue workers. The mine shaft is about two-thirds of a mile -- or 1 kilometer -- underground, a disaster agency said.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Miners stand by after the explosion. About 100 rescuers, dozens of ambulances and helicopters were dispatched to the scene.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Miners and relatives wait outside the mine on May 13. Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said officials turned an exit pipe "into a clean air pipe," so "there is fresh air being given in places where there is no fire."

Coal mine disaster in Turkey – Rescue operations continue at the site of the accident on May 13.

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Coal mine disaster in Turkey – A massive crowd watches as rescuers work into the night.

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EXPAND GALLERY

There is every expectation that number will grow.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Wednesday as many as 120 more were trapped inside the mine, though that was before rescue crews grimly hurried a series of stretchers -- at least some clearly carrying corpses -- past the waiting crowd.

As helicopters buzzed overheard and flags flew at half-staff, police and rescue workers were everywhere on the scene Wednesday night. But for most, there was precious little they could do.

The smoke rose from openings in the ground showed the continuing dangers both to those trapped and anyone who dared try to get them. Rescue volunteer Mustafa Gursoy told the CNN team at the mine that conditions inside the mine were abominable -- hot, smoky and filled with carbon monoxide.

Authorities worked to pump in good air into the mine, so they could get in. However, as Davitt McAteer, a former top U.S. mine safety official points out, sending in oxygen likely would "increase the likelihood that the fire would grow and continue to put those miners at risk."

These stiff challenges notwithstanding, rescuers haven't given up hope that some miners reached emergency chambers stocked with gas masks and air.

"If they could reach those emergency rooms and reach their gas masks and close the doors and protect those emergency areas from the poison gas, then they could survive," Gursoy said. "It's possible. We are ready for anything."

But Yildiz, speaking earlier, said "hopes are diminishing" of rescuing anyone yet inside the mine.

Veysel Sengul has already given up. The miner knew that four of his friends -- at least -- are dead.

"It's too late," said Sengul. "There's no more hope."

Political fallout

The trauma from what already looks like the worst mine disaster in Turkish history has left Soma and the rest of Turkey in shock and, in some cases, in anger. The latest death toll already tops a mining accident in the 1990s that took 260 lives.

Families hold vigil outside Turkish mine

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Over 200 dead in Turkish mine blast

Even as officials in the United States and elsewhere offered their condolences to his people, Erdogan found himself on the defensive.

Opposition politician Ozgur Ozel from the Manisa region had filed a proposal in late April to investigate Turkish mines after repeated deadly accidents.

In some incidents three people died, in others, five, said opposition spokesman Aykut Erdogdu. And Ozel wanted to get to the bottom of the deaths.

Several dozen members of opposition parties signed on to his proposal, but the conservative government overturned it. Some of its members publicly lampooned it, he said.

Erdogan questioned Ozel's version, and said the mine had passed safety inspections as recently as March.

The mine, owned by SOMA Komur Isletmeleri A.S., underwent regular inspections in the past three years, two of them this March, Turkey's government said. Inspectors reported no violation of health and safety laws.

Not everyone in Soma, at least, has sided with Erdogan, who canceled a trip to Albania to tour the rescue effort and speak to relatives of dead and injured miners.

He was met by a chorus of jeers as well as chants of "Resign Prime Minister!" while walking through the city Wednesday, according to DHA video.

Video from that network, social media messages and pictures posted to Twitter showed hundreds participating in anti-government protests in Istanbul and Ankara, with police answering in some cases with water cannons and tear gas.

While not focused on mine safety, such demonstrations railing against Erdogan and his government have been commonplace in Turkey in recent months, as has the police responding with water cannons and tear gas.

In the nation's capital of Ankara, some called for silent demonstration to "stand for humanity." Others left black coffins in front of the Energy Ministry and the Labor and Social Security ministry buildings.

That grim symbol speaks to the sadness permeating Turkey, whatever one's political bent.

For Sengul, the miner waiting by the tunnel entrance for more of his friends to emerge, the mourning may go on much longer than the three days ordered by Erdogan.